About this guide

The Firebird Quick Start Guide is an introduction for the complete
newcomer to a few essentials for getting off to a quick start with a Firebird binary kit. The
guide first saw the light as Chapter 1 of the Using Firebird manual, sold
on CD by IBPhoenix. Later it was published
separately on the Internet. In June 2004, IBPhoenix donated it to the Firebird Project. Since
then it is maintained, and regularly updated, by members of the Firebird documentation
project.

Important

Before you read on, verify that this guide matches your Firebird version. This guide
covers versions 2.0–2.0.6 and 2.1–2.1.4. For all other Firebird versions, get the
corresponding Quick Start Guide at http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/documentation/.

Some warnings before you start

Firebird 2.0.2 was recalled due to a regression; if you use it, upgrade to 2.0.3 or
higher ASAP and make sure to read your new version's Release Notes.